If IW is as hateful and discriminating then you would have heard more about it. He's been in the business a long time. He's no more hateful then some of you, the difference he's on television and when he's tired and frustrated and slips, it gets reported. Through all of this IW has been provoked and has been labelled after one incident. If believing that you're better, then you do what you have to do to live with yourself, and if that's bashing IW, then so me it - he'll be fine.
Burke Backer Says:
June 18th, 2007 3:05 PM
Oh Sarah, Does nothing anyone says ever get through to you? He used a word to describe wussie behavior. He doesn't now nor has he ever hated gays. If he had said I am not your little wuss like TR would it have caused such a firestorm of controversy? The word he did use in the heat of an argument is used millions of times every day in far more direct and hateful ways. He was mad. He used a bad word. Oh my gosh! Why don't we execute him??? Oh wait a minute, I guess we have.
After months of being discredited and hounded by this one word in 43 years of his life, he denied using the word in the way it was being portrayed in the media. This is not the same thing as leveling a slur at someone even though the press wanted us to believe it was because it sold magazines and got people to respond to the online reports. Isaiah is simply not a hateful person. Do you know anything at all about him? Have you followed his career? Have you heard his interviews or watched him in public appearances? I think not or you could not believe him capable of purposefully offending TR Knight in this way. Yet, you believe you are in a position to pass judgment on him.
In terms of the finale. It was horrible, plain and simple. It was ill conceived and completely unbelievable. Burke was portrayed from the beginning as a man of integrity and honor. He fell lin love with Cristina and she with him. She was bereft of emotions and was unable to let people in before Burke. For two and a half seasons we were led to believe that the relationship between Burke and Cristina was building to something better for both of them. We were captivated by the communication between these two actors who could say so much by just a look, a glance, a touch. To many of us they were a perfect fit. We were led to believe that Cristina was growing and becoming a whole person because of Burke's love for her, Cristina, just as she was. It was never about Cristina changing to fit Burke's vision of her. It was always about personal growth and his love for the real Cristina. If you bought into the nonsense of the last few weeks of the season where he was changing her into his "painted doll" you are exceedingly gullible. That was all a set up for his departure and it was completely botched.
The ending was a nightmare. Burke, the Burke we have watched for 2 1/2 years would never have left Cristina at the church. The Burke who would recite those vows would never have left their apartment without trying to make it work. It was a sham and an insult to the supporters of Burke and Cristina. Not one of us will ever believe that this story had an honorable ending. They shafted Isaiah and they shafted us.
If you are not a fan of Burke and Cristina, perhaps you could lend your support to the other couples on the show or characters without bashing the one that we love. It is bad enough to bash the actor who played him without knowing the person at all, but there is no reason to bash the character. There are people who were totally invested in this couple who feel that a member of their family has been lost. Your comments simply pour salt in the wound. Would a caring person do that? You accuse Isaiah of being hateful. Let's look inward a bit. There are many ways of doing that. The hate that has been leveled at Isaiah is unbelievable and completely out of proportion for what occurred.
The Golden Globe and the SAG award were based on season 2. I doubt that there will be much critical acclaim for season 3 and for me there is no season 4.
Shell Says:
June 18th, 2007 3:25 PM
I'm in the minority on so many points. I, for one, felt it necessary for IW to be let go. And that's hard for me to say because I loved Dr. Burke. And I love him and Criistina together - it's been a long time since we've been treated to such a complex and interesting couple. I will miss them, but I do look forward to watching Cristina find her way back to herself. I agree that Season 3 was lackluster at best, and while some of that can be contributed to the writing, it's hard not to question the unity and fluidity of the whole GA team when there's turmoil on and off set.
I won't afford IW the same excuses and passes that alot of people are willing to afford him. He not only used a discriminatory slur twice, but he put his hands on another co-worker in anger and caused a hostile envirionment on set. In just about any other workplace, this would call for immediate termination. I've read on more than one occasion that IW has demonstrated similar behavioral issues on previous sets. It shows a pattern and disrupts the cohesion of a group of people trying to do a stellar job. It's unfortunate, but it was time for him to move one. I find him to be a wonderful actor (and again, I will miss Burke), so I hope he's able to get a handle on some internal issue that seem to surface and flow over into his professional life.
I also disagree that the writers gave him a poor send off. He was given some of the most moving dialogue the show had this season. The recital of his vows in the OR was powerful, as was his final scene with Cristina.
He loved her enough to let her go and move on. A tearful, poiignant "moving out" scene would've been overkill. And I like to believe entirely too painful for our sentiimental and traditional Dr. Burke.
GA Freak Says:
June 18th, 2007 3:28 PM
Like most of you I wasn't impressed with the finale, but if you look at the show, if you really look at it Burke was leading and pushing Cristina from as far back as season one. If they had stayed together I don't think it would've lasted. Eveyone was complaning in previous comments about how MerDer were boring. So maybe it's good that they broke up. Maybe they needed that, or @ least a fresh start. I'm not completely defending Shonda here. If I wrote for Grey's things would've been different. Gizzie wouldn't exist and there would still be a chance for Alex and Addison, but maybe Shonda wrote herself into a corner and maybe she did need to burn it all down to build it back up. If Shonda and her team created the first two seasons they can find that spark again.
As for IW's firing I think that he should have been let go. TR. shouldn't have to get over it. It never should have happened. If TR. had said something about IW's race would we be reacting dfferently? Let's face it we live in a P.C. world today. You can't say what he said and face no consequences. Yes we all say things in anger, but that was a derogatory word about a personal thing. It had no place on set, and we don't know what else went on. I don't know what's in IW's heart, but from reading intervews I get the impression he only went through counselling and did the PSA because he was asked, not because it was right.
heatherjane71 Says:
June 18th, 2007 4:02 PM
OK, when is enough enough?! Has anyone stopped to think about how much this over dramatized incident being replayed over and over again in the media might be affecting T.R. Knight? Wasn't he the one initially hurt by the comment? How do you think it makes him feel to hear it repeated again and again and have to relive the whole drama over and over on a daily basis? It seems to be all anyone wants to talk about. Why don't we start thinking about him and how hard it was for him to come out to the public when he did, or what he might dealing with daily having to adjust to the reality of being scrutinized in the public eye. I admire him for overcoming such a difficult situation and I hope this whole teenage locker room BS ends soon!!
I a lot of people have been hurt because of this, but I can't find sympathy for anyone other than IW for the simple reason that people are intentionally trying to ruin his career. Things happened on the set that caused the incident, he didn't intentionally plan any of it.
Burke Backer Says:
June 18th, 2007 6:24 PM
I agree, MJ. Isaiah is the one who lost his job and has been the butt of hate emails and hateful media reports for eight months. Even though both Patrick Dempsey and others in the cast have said repeatedly that the verbal altercation did not come to anything physical, still a poster on this site continues to believe some unnamed source who claims Isaiah assaulted Patrick physically. I guess we all believe what we want to believe, but how much more evidence do you need than the statements of the people involved. Even Katherine Heigl, who set herself up to be spokesperson, said on the Ellen show just after the original incident that it was only verbal. You can bet if she could have made it worse for Isaiah she would have.
No one has looked at the show, really looked at the relationshp between Burke and Cristina any closer than I have, GAFreak, I think I have most of the Burke and Cristina parts memorized from viewing them over and over, and I disagree with you. Burke was taking the lead yes. I did not interpret it as a bad thing but rather a necessary thing if there was to be a relationship at all. Because of her past losses Cristina was not willing to invest in more than a superficial relationship with anyone. I never saw his leading and her taking some time to think about it and then following as negative. He asked for her phone number, she was confused and didn't know what she wanted. He walked away and told her to make up her mind. She did and it was to be with him. He wanted their relationship to be more than secret meetings in oncall rooms. He wanted to "court" her, an old fashioned term for a traditional guy. She needed time to think about it and then went to him to say that they were a couple. It was her choice. He could have walked away. He wanted her to move in with him. She resisted. He didn't push. He waited for her to make the decision to move in. I thought like in many relationships one person arrives at a place sooner than the other, but he always let her make the decision about everything except telling the Chief about their relationship. In that he could not wait because he knew the hospital politics better than she did and knew that the Chief would honor their honesty more than some inclandestine sneaking around. I saw that as a positive thing. I saw that as a part of his integrity. I think it would completely have lasted if this were a real couple and not a couple at the whim of whoever happens to be writing for the week. They were a perfect match intellectually, as dedicated surgeons, physically, and in every way except emotionally where he was light years ahead of her but willing to wait for her to catch up. I was hoping for 2 and 1/2 years that she would. When she said she was in it for the long haul, I thought that she had. When she accepted his proposal, again something she did not have to do, I really thought she knew how much she loved him and wanted to spend her life with him. Then enter Marlowe. We were led to believe for two years that she was new at having a boyfriend. Remember the episode when she was looking for the leg and paged him? She asked him if that wasn't what boyfriends were supposed to do. Marlowe was a ploy to put doubts into the viewers minds about who the real Cristina was. I completely loved this couple Burke and Cristina, watched primarily for them, followed their story line very carefully and believed they were perfect for each other and that they would eventually be happily married. Now they won't have the chance.
Heatherjane, I am sorry if TR is uncomfortable. But I disagree completely. He made the decision to come out. He even told Ellen when he appeared on her show after the Golden Globes iin an appeal for still more sympathy that he could have stayed quiet but he decided to go to the press. It was not a spur of the moment impulsive act. It was well thought out and orchestrated. I don't see him as a victim. He over heard someone associate his name with an inappropriate word and chose to react very negatively. If he is uncomfortable he should be. What did he think would happen when he set out to make an example of his cast mate? If he had simply accepted the original apology and moved on none of this would have become the big media farce that it has turned into. That's what adults do. Someone does something you don't like and they apologize, you accept the apology and move on especially when it was something you overheard and not even directed at you. He is as much at fault for the continued media attention as anyone. As recently as May he agreed to an interview with the Advocate and as much as said that Isaiah did not apologize to him even though that is a bold faced lie. How much else is a lie? If he is uncomfortable with the media attention, why court it to begin with? I have no admiration for TR Knight or the way he responded to something completely out of character for Isaiah for which apologies were extended at the time of the incident and multiple times since. If TR had been man enough to accept the apologies and let the viewing audience know that they were once again on good terms, I am sure it would have blown over. Instead he milked the sympathy and publicity and continued to play the victim keeping Isaiah in the role of the heavy and at the mercy of an unmerciful pro-gay media. I have no sympathy for him. None of this was necessary and much hinged on his reaction or over reaction.
GA Freak Says:
June 18th, 2007 6:25 PM
IW knew he was in the public eye and he was in control of his words. He shouldn't have said what he said. No one is trying to ruin him, accept maybe himself.
Burke Backer Says:
June 18th, 2007 6:42 PM
I would like to respond to one additional thing. Isaiah has supported gay activists causes for years. He was not ever nor is he now a homophobe, so he did not have to change his thinking about gay people. There was no reason to believe his public service announcement was not sincere because he has sincerely worked to support Gay causes in the past when his job was not hinging on it. People took a word out of context and built it into something horrible that clearly was never Isaiah's intention. Words can be used for multiple purposes. People are assuming that he used this word in a hateful way to make TR Knight feel discredited. In fact, TR was not on the set. I don't believe Isaiah meant for TR to hear or be offended. He was blowing off steam and said something that was inappropriate and not reflective of what his entire history has shown us is not in his heart. The fact that TR came on the scene in time to hear the word spoken in association with his name was offensive. Isaiah apologized but TR could not find it in his heart to accept the apology. I can forgive a word spoken in anger and then regretted far easier than I can forgive a well planned campaign to discredit a colleague because he hurt my feelings. Isaiah has been punished a thousand times over for using that inappropriate word. Private and public apologies, public service announcements, rehab for anger management, missing the SAG awards, having hateful things written about him by complete strangers on a daily basis. How much is enough? Now he has lost his job and still hateful people are not satisfied. Really hasn't there been enough punishment for something that is not a crime to begin with? Yes we live in a politically correct world, but since when is it politically correct to refuse to forgive someone for trying over and over to make amends. It is not in the best interest of anyone to give this much power to a single word.
Burke Backer Says:
June 18th, 2007 6:48 PM
He was on a closed set, a supposedly protected environment. It was not a public statement. People often say things in the heat of an argument that they don't mean and that they are sincerely sorry for afterwards. There is a big difference between making a statement from the stage as did Richards, or over the radio as did Imus, and saying somethng in a private conversation that is then spread all over the news in an effort to discredit you. Don't you agree? There most definitely were and are people out to ruin him and unfortunately they have had some success.
And no, when we're angry sometimes we don't have control over our words, we're not thinking clearly, that's why we say thing we don't mean.
Jilly Says:
June 18th, 2007 8:01 PM
Everyone has said something they've regretted at one point or another. I'm sure they could have made it work for IW, but for some reason they didn't want to.
I'm not interested in IW much, but I do believe that removing a major character is bad for the show. Burke - and then Addison too.
I think season 3 was horrible. It was depressing, and many people seemed too far out of character. It wasn't believeable at all.
I think Shonda is losing fans and she'd better pay attention. It's the minority of people who share her opinion of such a fantastic third season.
In fact, I really don't recall seeing anyone who just loved this season.
Calliope Says:
June 19th, 2007 1:43 AM
vicky I respect you but you bashing and then you said "it's my last post" and now you are here again.
I'm not only MerDer fan, I'm a Grey's fans (I hate only Addison). Burke wasn't so bad but IW is a moron IMO
vicky Says:
June 19th, 2007 7:03 AM
Calliope, I said that was my last post on that particular forum. I was tired of your mean comments personally aimed at me. So I called myself getting away from you, on that particular forum, not the site as a whole! I don't know why I thought I wouldn't see or hear from you again. You're gonna be commenting on these different articles on a daily basis just like I am. So yes Calliope, you're going to see my name on every post that has anything to do with Isaiah. Now, if you're tired of seeing my name, just post on any other forum that has nothing to do with my man. If you've noticed, I have'nt posted on any of the other costars articles because like I said, they are of no interest to me. So, for future reference, when you see a new front page on Grey's Anatomy Insider, and it either has Isaiah Washington's picture or anything concerning him in anyway, brace youself. Just say, "Oh my God, I've gotta see that moron Vicky praise that moron Isaiah Washington!" YOU'RE DARN RIGHT! ALONG WITH 80% OF GREYS FANS! You have a blessed day Calliope. (smile)
alexaholic Says:
June 19th, 2007 8:46 AM
Burke Backer, I totally agree with all of your postings regarding GA and Isaiah. I was personally disappointed with the direction of the show in Season 3--none of the people we came to know and love in 1 and 2 stayed true to their characters. I believe Shonda tried to "invent" some drama that would keep the show on top, but instead destroyed (burned down the house indeed!) all of the things we loved about the show. For example, TR should be complaining about what the writers did to George instead of dwelling on one inconsequential (tho regrettable) word uttered in frustration. George was a man of character, one person you could count on to be decent and true, yet the writers made him into a whiny, complaining, ANGRY cheater, with no moral compass and no sense of direction in his life or career. Derek, who was also strong and decent and most importantly DECISIVE, became a complete ineffectual bore who could not make a decision to save his own life---is it McDreamy or McGirlyMan?????First he loves her, then he's hitting on girls in bars, first he tells her he'll always be there then he tells her he can't breathe for her anymore. Which is it? Is he IN or is he OUT? Because if we, the viewers, don't know, how the heck can poor damaged Meredith figure it out? The loss of Addison and Dr. Burke is yet another deathblow to the show, which has been SLIDING downhill faster than Paris Hilton or Brittany. I was a HUGE fan of the show, just re-watched Seasons 1 and 2 and the differences in writing, storyline, acting, humor, medical issues, etc, are night and day with the shlock they turned out in Season 3. I wanted to hear what other fans had to say, so turned to this site, and I too feel that the majority of viewers were extremely disappointed with Season 3 and the destruction of what was an award-winning show. There will be no Golden Globes for Season 3. And I fear the end is in sight for this once-"must-see" show, as viewers begin to find other options for Thursday night. As for myself, where I was once ECSTATIC for the start of the season, and made plans for each new show, I am now only mildly interested and unsure if I will be able to sustain a full season of interest. Poor Shonda---she started to believe her own hype and GREED took over (hence the rush to capitalize on the popularity of GA by spinning off that dreary, incredibly juvenile new show) and the result is that she destroyed the best parts of GA and replaced them with what she THOUGHT would "sell." Finally, though I don't condone the word Isaiah used, I think the incident was blown way out of proportion, the adults (supposedly) working on set should be professional and come to work to do just that. They could have gotten past that incident and continued on but they CHOSE not to , and in the end it is not only TR and IW who suffered, but all of us, because we got totally shortchanged on a show we had invested in (time and emotion) for 3 full seasons.
vicky Says:
June 19th, 2007 10:17 AM
I justed watched Shonda's intervew on Access Hollywood, there's several clips on the website. Listening to her, I can see that deep down inside her heart, Shonda the person, not Shonda the writer, didn't agree with the letting go of IW. I personally think, just listening to her and watching her she was probably given an ultimatum by ABC and Disney. Either lose Washington, or lose everything. I can see her making the decision based off of that and it being a very hard decision. Starting a few minutes ago, I actually feel for her. I KNOW that she knows it's a VERY BIG loss having fired that man! And really, there's nothing she can do about it, but make the best out of the situation and move on. I'm pretty sure she hasn't stopped crying at night over this. But when she goes to work, she has to play the game. Hey, that's life. I hate that she chose losing him over losing her own career, but she had to do what she had to do. I'm pretty sure if we were in her shoes, being honest with ourselves, after much thinking would have made the same decision at the end. If you had to choose letting one person go, someone that is a seasoned actor with more credits than all of them combined, that could get more work after the dust settles because he is Isaiah Washington, or lose everything you put your blood, sweat and tears into, you would close your eyes, grit your teeth, with tears running down your face, and make that call. You would. Now me, knowing me. I would have got on my knees and cried out to God, prayed, fasted and believed God to change the hearts and minds of ABC and Disney before I had to make that call. And I truly believe, if it was God's will for Isaiah to renew his contract, that God would have honored my request. ABC and Disney may be big and intimidating, but GOD is bigger! All I'm saying is, I can see that she isn't really the villian in all this. I'm personally sorry that I thought she was. It had to be hard for her. It was sad for him. And his fans. I love IW and Preston Burke. I'm hurt! But, things don't always go the way we would like them to. Nobody else on that show was really known that well before Grey's, maybe Patrick Dempsey, but that's it. And I really only watched him in his movies from the eighties. So really, besides those two, the others need to stay on there because that's all they have for now. (Knocked Up....okay.....????)
to Alexaholic - guess what? even the New York Times
agrees with us - a quote in last Sunday's Arts & Leisure Section article about women in TV over 40 finding good roles.
"Grey's Anatomy" tried to fill the "Sex and the City" gap by mixing a playful approach to sex with a swoony look at love, and ended up taking adult romance so seriously that it veered into ludicrous melodrama.)
Burke Backer Says:
June 20th, 2007 9:07 PM
Alexaholic, you are my personal hero (heroine) tonight. You worded my thoughts much better than i could have. I agree with every word of your post. Thank you for being articulate. I get way to emotional on this particular issue and then can't always say what I want to say in a way that anyone can actually hear.
It makes me so angry that people are still saying Isaiah lied at the Golden Globes, for example. He didn't lie. He didn't say he didn't use the word, he said he didn't call TR that word, and he didn't. It all has to do with intent and semantics. It wasn't the time or place for him to try to explain and he didn't do a good job of it so rather than helping people understand they became angrier, and now we have all lost a primary character on the show and the only one that kept many of us watching week after week. I am so sorry about that and still so sad, but he was trying to say he didn't call TR that word. TR wasn't on the set and overheard it. He didn't mean for TR to hear and didn't mean to offend him. He wasn't addressing TR, thus did not call TR the word, just as he said in the press room. That doesn't excuse him, but an apology for using an offensive word without intent to hurt feelings should have been sufficient. People who don't like him anyway misunderstood his statement at the Golden Globes and the tabloids purposefully portrayed it a lie because it was big news again that way. Some people didn't bother to look at the situation and judge for themselves or to even try to understand what Isaiah was saying. It is those kind of things that just really hurt me to read. So instead we have fans of the show calling him a moron. This is a good man who does good things and made a mistake. He deserves some understanding and some forgiveness.
That is also what makes me angry with ABC and the Grey's production team. Someone could have asked him for clarification rather than making assumptions and publicaly reprimanding him. They chose to play this out so that Isaiah was in the worst possible light and in a manner that would protect ABC from the influential pro-gay media. I feel so bad for him. He absolutely does not deserve the treatment he has received from ABC but even more so from some of the fans of Greys Anatomy.
Burke Backer Says:
June 20th, 2007 9:19 PM
Hi Vicky, I agree with you. I think about Shonda and the fact that she created Preston Burke. She said in an interview way back at the beginning that both Burke and Shepherd were parts of her dream guy. It must have been as hard for her to let go of Burke as it was for her to lose Isaiah. I agree that she had no choice. She works for ABC/Touchstone. If they said he had to go, he had to go. I thought the article by the guy from GLAAD was pretty interesting when he said pro-gay influential people would let their voices be heard and call for Isaiah to be fired. They knew when they asked him to make the Public Service Announcement to cover their own butts that they were not going to keep him. I hate the hypocrisy. It was unfair to both Isaiah and the fans of the character.
I don't blame Shonda in the end, but I do blame her for not having more control of some of her cast that made the situation worse than it had to be for everyone including Isaiah. They have money. They could have hired a counselor of some sort to work with both Isaiah and TR Knight to come to some kind of understanding and resolution to this. To my knowledge it is still not resolved in TR Knight's mind even though we have all lost Isaiah because of it.
Tonight I am taking comfort in your words though and hope that Isaiah goes on to do great things. I think he is a terrific actor and person and I really hope for good thiings for him. I wish they would change their decision and bring him back because I will really miss Preston Burke. It has to be heart breaking for Shonda. I am sure the intention was for Cristina and Burke to be the first married couple on the show prior to the Golden Globes. It would have been so much fun to watch them navigate the murky waters of marriage and career. I am so sorry that we will miss that.
Briton A Says:
June 21st, 2007 6:16 PM
I have LOVED Grey's Anatomy since it first started. The whole thing is just different than what's on TV today. You have a more diverse cast, you have characters that you hate to love, and you even have characters you love die off on you (Denny I still miss you). But it's different. It's not a half hour show about six friends and their antics; it's humor and drama. Shonda Rhimes is a genius for creating this show. I applaud her efforts as a woman, and as an African-American woman for exploring this new territory. As for Isaiah Washington, I loved Dr. Burk and Christina's relationship, but we all knew it would end. Deep down it wouldn't have lasted; they are too volatile for a marriage. Washington shouldn't have said what he said. There are consequences for what you say. Educators learned this long ago that is why teachers are very careful in how they phrase everything. You have to look past the fact that he plays a popular character on a show and see that what he said was wrong. If he had been a white male and had used the N-word, there wouldn't have been a discussion he'd have been gone in a heartbeat. The show will be different, but I have faith that they will come back from this whole situation, and the people who have said they won't watch anymore, I predict when season 4 starts, they'll be glued to their TV to see what happens!
sharon mahaffy Says:
June 22nd, 2007 11:54 PM
I don't approve of the Washington situation, however...I do think that he was a great character on Grey's and that it's a mistake to let him go. I am about sick to death of "George"...he's spineless and Meredith is wearing me out with her constant depression.....time for some of these folks to get a grip...We need Isaiah back.
Micheal Says:
June 30th, 2007 3:24 AM
Grey's Anatomy will not be the same without Burke! Everyone makes mistakes and he showed his effort by taking the sensitivity course. I'm almost positive this will be the last season for Grey's Anatomy and the person who decided to let Burke go will look back and regret it. Obviously emotions got in the way and the reason he was fired wasn't because of the outstanding work he did, it was because some people were hurt and thought since they were in control they would just get rid of him. Thank God Jesus didn't cast the stones ABC has cast.
Leslie Says:
July 5th, 2007 10:59 PM
I am a newcommer to the GA, infact I started watching it a little before Christmas. One thing that kept me coming back for more was Dr. Burke and Christina's unpredictable relationship. We all make mistakes. I think his punishment is a little too harsh. I think we forget that this is that man's (I.W.)life. What if when we mess up someone snatches our llivelihood. Second chances are for every man. Always put yourself in the other man's shoes before we judge and we don't know what it was like working with him. What I do know is that one day the media is singing your praises and the next day it's crucify him. They can't be trusted because they are out for blood and could care less about that man's career and life. Isaiah Washington is a great actor and his presence will be greatly missed on Grey's Anatomy. There will be no Grey's Anatomy fourth season for me .
Shanina Says:
July 19th, 2007 12:00 AM
Hey--it's simple--Grey's Anatomy has jumped the shark. Too bad--so soon. But we can't suspend our logic anymore--
June 18th, 2007 1:23 PM
If IW is as hateful and discriminating then you would have heard more about it. He's been in the business a long time. He's no more hateful then some of you, the difference he's on television and when he's tired and frustrated and slips, it gets reported. Through all of this IW has been provoked and has been labelled after one incident. If believing that you're better, then you do what you have to do to live with yourself, and if that's bashing IW, then so me it - he'll be fine.
June 18th, 2007 3:05 PM
Oh Sarah, Does nothing anyone says ever get through to you? He used a word to describe wussie behavior. He doesn't now nor has he ever hated gays. If he had said I am not your little wuss like TR would it have caused such a firestorm of controversy? The word he did use in the heat of an argument is used millions of times every day in far more direct and hateful ways. He was mad. He used a bad word. Oh my gosh! Why don't we execute him??? Oh wait a minute, I guess we have.
After months of being discredited and hounded by this one word in 43 years of his life, he denied using the word in the way it was being portrayed in the media. This is not the same thing as leveling a slur at someone even though the press wanted us to believe it was because it sold magazines and got people to respond to the online reports. Isaiah is simply not a hateful person. Do you know anything at all about him? Have you followed his career? Have you heard his interviews or watched him in public appearances? I think not or you could not believe him capable of purposefully offending TR Knight in this way. Yet, you believe you are in a position to pass judgment on him.
In terms of the finale. It was horrible, plain and simple. It was ill conceived and completely unbelievable. Burke was portrayed from the beginning as a man of integrity and honor. He fell lin love with Cristina and she with him. She was bereft of emotions and was unable to let people in before Burke. For two and a half seasons we were led to believe that the relationship between Burke and Cristina was building to something better for both of them. We were captivated by the communication between these two actors who could say so much by just a look, a glance, a touch. To many of us they were a perfect fit. We were led to believe that Cristina was growing and becoming a whole person because of Burke's love for her, Cristina, just as she was. It was never about Cristina changing to fit Burke's vision of her. It was always about personal growth and his love for the real Cristina. If you bought into the nonsense of the last few weeks of the season where he was changing her into his "painted doll" you are exceedingly gullible. That was all a set up for his departure and it was completely botched.
The ending was a nightmare. Burke, the Burke we have watched for 2 1/2 years would never have left Cristina at the church. The Burke who would recite those vows would never have left their apartment without trying to make it work. It was a sham and an insult to the supporters of Burke and Cristina. Not one of us will ever believe that this story had an honorable ending. They shafted Isaiah and they shafted us.
If you are not a fan of Burke and Cristina, perhaps you could lend your support to the other couples on the show or characters without bashing the one that we love. It is bad enough to bash the actor who played him without knowing the person at all, but there is no reason to bash the character. There are people who were totally invested in this couple who feel that a member of their family has been lost. Your comments simply pour salt in the wound. Would a caring person do that? You accuse Isaiah of being hateful. Let's look inward a bit. There are many ways of doing that. The hate that has been leveled at Isaiah is unbelievable and completely out of proportion for what occurred.
The Golden Globe and the SAG award were based on season 2. I doubt that there will be much critical acclaim for season 3 and for me there is no season 4.
June 18th, 2007 3:25 PM
I'm in the minority on so many points. I, for one, felt it necessary for IW to be let go. And that's hard for me to say because I loved Dr. Burke. And I love him and Criistina together - it's been a long time since we've been treated to such a complex and interesting couple. I will miss them, but I do look forward to watching Cristina find her way back to herself. I agree that Season 3 was lackluster at best, and while some of that can be contributed to the writing, it's hard not to question the unity and fluidity of the whole GA team when there's turmoil on and off set.
I won't afford IW the same excuses and passes that alot of people are willing to afford him. He not only used a discriminatory slur twice, but he put his hands on another co-worker in anger and caused a hostile envirionment on set. In just about any other workplace, this would call for immediate termination. I've read on more than one occasion that IW has demonstrated similar behavioral issues on previous sets. It shows a pattern and disrupts the cohesion of a group of people trying to do a stellar job. It's unfortunate, but it was time for him to move one. I find him to be a wonderful actor (and again, I will miss Burke), so I hope he's able to get a handle on some internal issue that seem to surface and flow over into his professional life.
I also disagree that the writers gave him a poor send off. He was given some of the most moving dialogue the show had this season. The recital of his vows in the OR was powerful, as was his final scene with Cristina.
He loved her enough to let her go and move on. A tearful, poiignant "moving out" scene would've been overkill. And I like to believe entirely too painful for our sentiimental and traditional Dr. Burke.
June 18th, 2007 3:28 PM
Like most of you I wasn't impressed with the finale, but if you look at the show, if you really look at it Burke was leading and pushing Cristina from as far back as season one. If they had stayed together I don't think it would've lasted. Eveyone was complaning in previous comments about how MerDer were boring. So maybe it's good that they broke up. Maybe they needed that, or @ least a fresh start. I'm not completely defending Shonda here. If I wrote for Grey's things would've been different. Gizzie wouldn't exist and there would still be a chance for Alex and Addison, but maybe Shonda wrote herself into a corner and maybe she did need to burn it all down to build it back up. If Shonda and her team created the first two seasons they can find that spark again.
As for IW's firing I think that he should have been let go. TR. shouldn't have to get over it. It never should have happened. If TR. had said something about IW's race would we be reacting dfferently? Let's face it we live in a P.C. world today. You can't say what he said and face no consequences. Yes we all say things in anger, but that was a derogatory word about a personal thing. It had no place on set, and we don't know what else went on. I don't know what's in IW's heart, but from reading intervews I get the impression he only went through counselling and did the PSA because he was asked, not because it was right.
June 18th, 2007 4:02 PM
OK, when is enough enough?! Has anyone stopped to think about how much this over dramatized incident being replayed over and over again in the media might be affecting T.R. Knight? Wasn't he the one initially hurt by the comment? How do you think it makes him feel to hear it repeated again and again and have to relive the whole drama over and over on a daily basis? It seems to be all anyone wants to talk about. Why don't we start thinking about him and how hard it was for him to come out to the public when he did, or what he might dealing with daily having to adjust to the reality of being scrutinized in the public eye. I admire him for overcoming such a difficult situation and I hope this whole teenage locker room BS ends soon!!
June 18th, 2007 5:19 PM
I a lot of people have been hurt because of this, but I can't find sympathy for anyone other than IW for the simple reason that people are intentionally trying to ruin his career. Things happened on the set that caused the incident, he didn't intentionally plan any of it.
June 18th, 2007 6:24 PM
I agree, MJ. Isaiah is the one who lost his job and has been the butt of hate emails and hateful media reports for eight months. Even though both Patrick Dempsey and others in the cast have said repeatedly that the verbal altercation did not come to anything physical, still a poster on this site continues to believe some unnamed source who claims Isaiah assaulted Patrick physically. I guess we all believe what we want to believe, but how much more evidence do you need than the statements of the people involved. Even Katherine Heigl, who set herself up to be spokesperson, said on the Ellen show just after the original incident that it was only verbal. You can bet if she could have made it worse for Isaiah she would have.
No one has looked at the show, really looked at the relationshp between Burke and Cristina any closer than I have, GAFreak, I think I have most of the Burke and Cristina parts memorized from viewing them over and over, and I disagree with you. Burke was taking the lead yes. I did not interpret it as a bad thing but rather a necessary thing if there was to be a relationship at all. Because of her past losses Cristina was not willing to invest in more than a superficial relationship with anyone. I never saw his leading and her taking some time to think about it and then following as negative. He asked for her phone number, she was confused and didn't know what she wanted. He walked away and told her to make up her mind. She did and it was to be with him. He wanted their relationship to be more than secret meetings in oncall rooms. He wanted to "court" her, an old fashioned term for a traditional guy. She needed time to think about it and then went to him to say that they were a couple. It was her choice. He could have walked away. He wanted her to move in with him. She resisted. He didn't push. He waited for her to make the decision to move in. I thought like in many relationships one person arrives at a place sooner than the other, but he always let her make the decision about everything except telling the Chief about their relationship. In that he could not wait because he knew the hospital politics better than she did and knew that the Chief would honor their honesty more than some inclandestine sneaking around. I saw that as a positive thing. I saw that as a part of his integrity. I think it would completely have lasted if this were a real couple and not a couple at the whim of whoever happens to be writing for the week. They were a perfect match intellectually, as dedicated surgeons, physically, and in every way except emotionally where he was light years ahead of her but willing to wait for her to catch up. I was hoping for 2 and 1/2 years that she would. When she said she was in it for the long haul, I thought that she had. When she accepted his proposal, again something she did not have to do, I really thought she knew how much she loved him and wanted to spend her life with him. Then enter Marlowe. We were led to believe for two years that she was new at having a boyfriend. Remember the episode when she was looking for the leg and paged him? She asked him if that wasn't what boyfriends were supposed to do. Marlowe was a ploy to put doubts into the viewers minds about who the real Cristina was. I completely loved this couple Burke and Cristina, watched primarily for them, followed their story line very carefully and believed they were perfect for each other and that they would eventually be happily married. Now they won't have the chance.
Heatherjane, I am sorry if TR is uncomfortable. But I disagree completely. He made the decision to come out. He even told Ellen when he appeared on her show after the Golden Globes iin an appeal for still more sympathy that he could have stayed quiet but he decided to go to the press. It was not a spur of the moment impulsive act. It was well thought out and orchestrated. I don't see him as a victim. He over heard someone associate his name with an inappropriate word and chose to react very negatively. If he is uncomfortable he should be. What did he think would happen when he set out to make an example of his cast mate? If he had simply accepted the original apology and moved on none of this would have become the big media farce that it has turned into. That's what adults do. Someone does something you don't like and they apologize, you accept the apology and move on especially when it was something you overheard and not even directed at you. He is as much at fault for the continued media attention as anyone. As recently as May he agreed to an interview with the Advocate and as much as said that Isaiah did not apologize to him even though that is a bold faced lie. How much else is a lie? If he is uncomfortable with the media attention, why court it to begin with? I have no admiration for TR Knight or the way he responded to something completely out of character for Isaiah for which apologies were extended at the time of the incident and multiple times since. If TR had been man enough to accept the apologies and let the viewing audience know that they were once again on good terms, I am sure it would have blown over. Instead he milked the sympathy and publicity and continued to play the victim keeping Isaiah in the role of the heavy and at the mercy of an unmerciful pro-gay media. I have no sympathy for him. None of this was necessary and much hinged on his reaction or over reaction.
June 18th, 2007 6:25 PM
IW knew he was in the public eye and he was in control of his words. He shouldn't have said what he said. No one is trying to ruin him, accept maybe himself.
June 18th, 2007 6:42 PM
I would like to respond to one additional thing. Isaiah has supported gay activists causes for years. He was not ever nor is he now a homophobe, so he did not have to change his thinking about gay people. There was no reason to believe his public service announcement was not sincere because he has sincerely worked to support Gay causes in the past when his job was not hinging on it. People took a word out of context and built it into something horrible that clearly was never Isaiah's intention. Words can be used for multiple purposes. People are assuming that he used this word in a hateful way to make TR Knight feel discredited. In fact, TR was not on the set. I don't believe Isaiah meant for TR to hear or be offended. He was blowing off steam and said something that was inappropriate and not reflective of what his entire history has shown us is not in his heart. The fact that TR came on the scene in time to hear the word spoken in association with his name was offensive. Isaiah apologized but TR could not find it in his heart to accept the apology. I can forgive a word spoken in anger and then regretted far easier than I can forgive a well planned campaign to discredit a colleague because he hurt my feelings. Isaiah has been punished a thousand times over for using that inappropriate word. Private and public apologies, public service announcements, rehab for anger management, missing the SAG awards, having hateful things written about him by complete strangers on a daily basis. How much is enough? Now he has lost his job and still hateful people are not satisfied. Really hasn't there been enough punishment for something that is not a crime to begin with? Yes we live in a politically correct world, but since when is it politically correct to refuse to forgive someone for trying over and over to make amends. It is not in the best interest of anyone to give this much power to a single word.
June 18th, 2007 6:48 PM
He was on a closed set, a supposedly protected environment. It was not a public statement. People often say things in the heat of an argument that they don't mean and that they are sincerely sorry for afterwards. There is a big difference between making a statement from the stage as did Richards, or over the radio as did Imus, and saying somethng in a private conversation that is then spread all over the news in an effort to discredit you. Don't you agree? There most definitely were and are people out to ruin him and unfortunately they have had some success.
June 18th, 2007 6:55 PM
That's exactly what they're trying to do, but he'll always have people supporting him, and he's gained even more.
June 18th, 2007 7:08 PM
And no, when we're angry sometimes we don't have control over our words, we're not thinking clearly, that's why we say thing we don't mean.
June 18th, 2007 8:01 PM
Everyone has said something they've regretted at one point or another. I'm sure they could have made it work for IW, but for some reason they didn't want to.
I'm not interested in IW much, but I do believe that removing a major character is bad for the show. Burke - and then Addison too.
I think season 3 was horrible. It was depressing, and many people seemed too far out of character. It wasn't believeable at all.
I think Shonda is losing fans and she'd better pay attention. It's the minority of people who share her opinion of such a fantastic third season.
In fact, I really don't recall seeing anyone who just loved this season.
June 19th, 2007 1:43 AM
vicky I respect you but you bashing and then you said "it's my last post" and now you are here again.
I'm not only MerDer fan, I'm a Grey's fans (I hate only Addison). Burke wasn't so bad but IW is a moron IMO
June 19th, 2007 7:03 AM
Calliope, I said that was my last post on that particular forum. I was tired of your mean comments personally aimed at me. So I called myself getting away from you, on that particular forum, not the site as a whole! I don't know why I thought I wouldn't see or hear from you again. You're gonna be commenting on these different articles on a daily basis just like I am. So yes Calliope, you're going to see my name on every post that has anything to do with Isaiah. Now, if you're tired of seeing my name, just post on any other forum that has nothing to do with my man. If you've noticed, I have'nt posted on any of the other costars articles because like I said, they are of no interest to me. So, for future reference, when you see a new front page on Grey's Anatomy Insider, and it either has Isaiah Washington's picture or anything concerning him in anyway, brace youself. Just say, "Oh my God, I've gotta see that moron Vicky praise that moron Isaiah Washington!" YOU'RE DARN RIGHT! ALONG WITH 80% OF GREYS FANS! You have a blessed day Calliope. (smile)
June 19th, 2007 8:46 AM
Burke Backer, I totally agree with all of your postings regarding GA and Isaiah. I was personally disappointed with the direction of the show in Season 3--none of the people we came to know and love in 1 and 2 stayed true to their characters. I believe Shonda tried to "invent" some drama that would keep the show on top, but instead destroyed (burned down the house indeed!) all of the things we loved about the show. For example, TR should be complaining about what the writers did to George instead of dwelling on one inconsequential (tho regrettable) word uttered in frustration. George was a man of character, one person you could count on to be decent and true, yet the writers made him into a whiny, complaining, ANGRY cheater, with no moral compass and no sense of direction in his life or career. Derek, who was also strong and decent and most importantly DECISIVE, became a complete ineffectual bore who could not make a decision to save his own life---is it McDreamy or McGirlyMan?????First he loves her, then he's hitting on girls in bars, first he tells her he'll always be there then he tells her he can't breathe for her anymore. Which is it? Is he IN or is he OUT? Because if we, the viewers, don't know, how the heck can poor damaged Meredith figure it out? The loss of Addison and Dr. Burke is yet another deathblow to the show, which has been SLIDING downhill faster than Paris Hilton or Brittany. I was a HUGE fan of the show, just re-watched Seasons 1 and 2 and the differences in writing, storyline, acting, humor, medical issues, etc, are night and day with the shlock they turned out in Season 3. I wanted to hear what other fans had to say, so turned to this site, and I too feel that the majority of viewers were extremely disappointed with Season 3 and the destruction of what was an award-winning show. There will be no Golden Globes for Season 3. And I fear the end is in sight for this once-"must-see" show, as viewers begin to find other options for Thursday night. As for myself, where I was once ECSTATIC for the start of the season, and made plans for each new show, I am now only mildly interested and unsure if I will be able to sustain a full season of interest. Poor Shonda---she started to believe her own hype and GREED took over (hence the rush to capitalize on the popularity of GA by spinning off that dreary, incredibly juvenile new show) and the result is that she destroyed the best parts of GA and replaced them with what she THOUGHT would "sell." Finally, though I don't condone the word Isaiah used, I think the incident was blown way out of proportion, the adults (supposedly) working on set should be professional and come to work to do just that. They could have gotten past that incident and continued on but they CHOSE not to , and in the end it is not only TR and IW who suffered, but all of us, because we got totally shortchanged on a show we had invested in (time and emotion) for 3 full seasons.
June 19th, 2007 10:17 AM
I justed watched Shonda's intervew on Access Hollywood, there's several clips on the website. Listening to her, I can see that deep down inside her heart, Shonda the person, not Shonda the writer, didn't agree with the letting go of IW. I personally think, just listening to her and watching her she was probably given an ultimatum by ABC and Disney. Either lose Washington, or lose everything. I can see her making the decision based off of that and it being a very hard decision. Starting a few minutes ago, I actually feel for her. I KNOW that she knows it's a VERY BIG loss having fired that man! And really, there's nothing she can do about it, but make the best out of the situation and move on. I'm pretty sure she hasn't stopped crying at night over this. But when she goes to work, she has to play the game. Hey, that's life. I hate that she chose losing him over losing her own career, but she had to do what she had to do. I'm pretty sure if we were in her shoes, being honest with ourselves, after much thinking would have made the same decision at the end. If you had to choose letting one person go, someone that is a seasoned actor with more credits than all of them combined, that could get more work after the dust settles because he is Isaiah Washington, or lose everything you put your blood, sweat and tears into, you would close your eyes, grit your teeth, with tears running down your face, and make that call. You would. Now me, knowing me. I would have got on my knees and cried out to God, prayed, fasted and believed God to change the hearts and minds of ABC and Disney before I had to make that call. And I truly believe, if it was God's will for Isaiah to renew his contract, that God would have honored my request. ABC and Disney may be big and intimidating, but GOD is bigger! All I'm saying is, I can see that she isn't really the villian in all this. I'm personally sorry that I thought she was. It had to be hard for her. It was sad for him. And his fans. I love IW and Preston Burke. I'm hurt! But, things don't always go the way we would like them to. Nobody else on that show was really known that well before Grey's, maybe Patrick Dempsey, but that's it. And I really only watched him in his movies from the eighties. So really, besides those two, the others need to stay on there because that's all they have for now. (Knocked Up....okay.....????)
June 19th, 2007 8:31 PM
to Alexaholic - guess what? even the New York Times
agrees with us - a quote in last Sunday's Arts & Leisure Section article about women in TV over 40 finding good roles.
"Grey's Anatomy" tried to fill the "Sex and the City" gap by mixing a playful approach to sex with a swoony look at love, and ended up taking adult romance so seriously that it veered into ludicrous melodrama.)
June 20th, 2007 9:07 PM
Alexaholic, you are my personal hero (heroine) tonight. You worded my thoughts much better than i could have. I agree with every word of your post. Thank you for being articulate. I get way to emotional on this particular issue and then can't always say what I want to say in a way that anyone can actually hear.
It makes me so angry that people are still saying Isaiah lied at the Golden Globes, for example. He didn't lie. He didn't say he didn't use the word, he said he didn't call TR that word, and he didn't. It all has to do with intent and semantics. It wasn't the time or place for him to try to explain and he didn't do a good job of it so rather than helping people understand they became angrier, and now we have all lost a primary character on the show and the only one that kept many of us watching week after week. I am so sorry about that and still so sad, but he was trying to say he didn't call TR that word. TR wasn't on the set and overheard it. He didn't mean for TR to hear and didn't mean to offend him. He wasn't addressing TR, thus did not call TR the word, just as he said in the press room. That doesn't excuse him, but an apology for using an offensive word without intent to hurt feelings should have been sufficient. People who don't like him anyway misunderstood his statement at the Golden Globes and the tabloids purposefully portrayed it a lie because it was big news again that way. Some people didn't bother to look at the situation and judge for themselves or to even try to understand what Isaiah was saying. It is those kind of things that just really hurt me to read. So instead we have fans of the show calling him a moron. This is a good man who does good things and made a mistake. He deserves some understanding and some forgiveness.
That is also what makes me angry with ABC and the Grey's production team. Someone could have asked him for clarification rather than making assumptions and publicaly reprimanding him. They chose to play this out so that Isaiah was in the worst possible light and in a manner that would protect ABC from the influential pro-gay media. I feel so bad for him. He absolutely does not deserve the treatment he has received from ABC but even more so from some of the fans of Greys Anatomy.
June 20th, 2007 9:19 PM
Hi Vicky, I agree with you. I think about Shonda and the fact that she created Preston Burke. She said in an interview way back at the beginning that both Burke and Shepherd were parts of her dream guy. It must have been as hard for her to let go of Burke as it was for her to lose Isaiah. I agree that she had no choice. She works for ABC/Touchstone. If they said he had to go, he had to go. I thought the article by the guy from GLAAD was pretty interesting when he said pro-gay influential people would let their voices be heard and call for Isaiah to be fired. They knew when they asked him to make the Public Service Announcement to cover their own butts that they were not going to keep him. I hate the hypocrisy. It was unfair to both Isaiah and the fans of the character.
I don't blame Shonda in the end, but I do blame her for not having more control of some of her cast that made the situation worse than it had to be for everyone including Isaiah. They have money. They could have hired a counselor of some sort to work with both Isaiah and TR Knight to come to some kind of understanding and resolution to this. To my knowledge it is still not resolved in TR Knight's mind even though we have all lost Isaiah because of it.
Tonight I am taking comfort in your words though and hope that Isaiah goes on to do great things. I think he is a terrific actor and person and I really hope for good thiings for him. I wish they would change their decision and bring him back because I will really miss Preston Burke. It has to be heart breaking for Shonda. I am sure the intention was for Cristina and Burke to be the first married couple on the show prior to the Golden Globes. It would have been so much fun to watch them navigate the murky waters of marriage and career. I am so sorry that we will miss that.
June 21st, 2007 6:16 PM
I have LOVED Grey's Anatomy since it first started. The whole thing is just different than what's on TV today. You have a more diverse cast, you have characters that you hate to love, and you even have characters you love die off on you (Denny I still miss you). But it's different. It's not a half hour show about six friends and their antics; it's humor and drama. Shonda Rhimes is a genius for creating this show. I applaud her efforts as a woman, and as an African-American woman for exploring this new territory. As for Isaiah Washington, I loved Dr. Burk and Christina's relationship, but we all knew it would end. Deep down it wouldn't have lasted; they are too volatile for a marriage. Washington shouldn't have said what he said. There are consequences for what you say. Educators learned this long ago that is why teachers are very careful in how they phrase everything. You have to look past the fact that he plays a popular character on a show and see that what he said was wrong. If he had been a white male and had used the N-word, there wouldn't have been a discussion he'd have been gone in a heartbeat. The show will be different, but I have faith that they will come back from this whole situation, and the people who have said they won't watch anymore, I predict when season 4 starts, they'll be glued to their TV to see what happens!
June 22nd, 2007 11:54 PM
I don't approve of the Washington situation, however...I do think that he was a great character on Grey's and that it's a mistake to let him go. I am about sick to death of "George"...he's spineless and Meredith is wearing me out with her constant depression.....time for some of these folks to get a grip...We need Isaiah back.
June 30th, 2007 3:24 AM
Grey's Anatomy will not be the same without Burke! Everyone makes mistakes and he showed his effort by taking the sensitivity course. I'm almost positive this will be the last season for Grey's Anatomy and the person who decided to let Burke go will look back and regret it. Obviously emotions got in the way and the reason he was fired wasn't because of the outstanding work he did, it was because some people were hurt and thought since they were in control they would just get rid of him. Thank God Jesus didn't cast the stones ABC has cast.
July 5th, 2007 10:59 PM
I am a newcommer to the GA, infact I started watching it a little before Christmas. One thing that kept me coming back for more was Dr. Burke and Christina's unpredictable relationship. We all make mistakes. I think his punishment is a little too harsh. I think we forget that this is that man's (I.W.)life. What if when we mess up someone snatches our llivelihood. Second chances are for every man. Always put yourself in the other man's shoes before we judge and we don't know what it was like working with him. What I do know is that one day the media is singing your praises and the next day it's crucify him. They can't be trusted because they are out for blood and could care less about that man's career and life. Isaiah Washington is a great actor and his presence will be greatly missed on Grey's Anatomy. There will be no Grey's Anatomy fourth season for me .
July 19th, 2007 12:00 AM
Hey--it's simple--Grey's Anatomy has jumped the shark. Too bad--so soon. But we can't suspend our logic anymore--